“The damage is considerable across the country,” said Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. A firefighter is missing and another is in critical condition, after the collapse of a house in Auckland.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
The New Zealand government declared Tuesday, February 14, the state of emergency through the archipelago struck by a violent storm which deprived tens of thousands of households of electricity and caused floods and landslides .
This “unprecedented meteorological event”, according to the authorities, resulted in the night of Monday to Tuesday by strong winds and abundant precipitation on the north island.
“The damage is considerable across the country,” deplored Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, at a press conference in Auckland.
“Many families have been moved, many households are deprived of electricity,” he added.
Houses have been damaged by falls of trees or invaded by mud and trash. Some residents found themselves completely isolated, the roads being cut as a result of landslides or floods.
According to local media, people were forced to flee their home at swimming in order to take shelter.
The Cyclone Gabrielle who crossed the South Pacific was demoted to storm status by approaching New Zealand on Sunday. This storm resulted in gusts of wind from up to 140 km/h, a accumulation of precipitation up to 20 cm in twenty-four hours and waves of eleven meters.
m. Hipkins estimated that it is still “too early to say” how many people have been evacuated from their home and are deprived of electricity or telephone coverage.
“unprecedented bad weather”
“These are unprecedented bad weather that has a huge impact” in the north of the country, said the Minister of Emergency Management, Kieran Mcanulty, with “large -scale floods, landslides, roads and other damaged infrastructure “.
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” This is a disaster Major [which represents] a real threat to the life of New Zealanders, “warned Mr. Mcanulty, adding that the national emergency was decreed for seven days. He clarified that new rains and strong winds are expected on Tuesday, coming to complicate rescue operations.
“The [information] that has reached us tonight are very worrying,” Mcanulty told the press. “Emergency services work night and day, but soil instability, flood waters and closed roads complicate things”.
New Zealand fire and rescue services have indicated that a firefighter is missing and another is in critical condition after the collapse of a house in West Auckland.
The storm nailed aircraft on Monday and Air New Zealand said that the trips of some 10,000 international customers have been disrupted. The airline announced the resumption of certain flights on Tuesday afternoon.
m. Hipkins promised an aid of $ 11.5 million New Zealand (6.8 million euros) to help repairs.
Auckland, the largest city in the country with 1.6 million inhabitants, barely recoveries sudden floods which made the end of January four dead and forced thousands of people to leave their homes.